thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. great conversation, you want dale murphy in the hall of fame. dually noted. thanks to all of you. that is all for today. we will be back next week. if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." o all of

heavy fighting in the suburbs of damascus as syrian fighter jets bomb rebel held areas. we will talk about what the nearly two-year civil war means today. you're watching msnbc. >> we just need to let the world know we are not okay. >> they need to get down here and do it quickly. >> we need it to happen two months ago. the victims of hurricane sandy call for action from congress. we will get views from new york and new jersey. what do these things have in common? cockroaches, traffic jams and lindsay lohan. they are all more popular than congress.

can lawmakers be effective on capitol hill? president obama has gotten pushback for just about every cabinet member. concerns about hagel's nomination for defense secretary topped today's sunday talks. >> overall temperment and is he suited to run a department or big agency like the pentagon. >> whether he really believes that the surge was the worst blunderer since the vietnam war, that clearly is not -- that is not correct. in fact, it is bizarre. why would he oppose calling the iranian revolutionary guard a terrorist organization? >> peter alexander is at the white house where that nomination was announced. good afternoon to you. what is the president's strategy for dealing with these sorts of road blocks from republicans ahead of hagel's hearing? >> reporter: it is clear that

the administration, the white house, specifically stands behind chuck hagel and is waiting for hearings to take place and they say it is only at that time that they will see exactly how chuck hagel will react to pushback. colin powell referred to hagel as having a diminished public record. he will be as secretary of defense the first grunt as it were ever to serve as secretary of defense and powell said because he put his own life at risk he would be the best suited person to be in charge of other lives. it is clear that the white house feels very confidently that this will go forward even though there are questions. >> as we continue to look at the president's team as he starts to

make nominations. we saw secretary of labor resign last week. we will look at names that might resign. steven chu one of the names. any word on them departing anytime soon? >> reporter: those are good questions. we don't know just yet. it is familiart that there would be a changing of the guards between a first and second term. as it goes in churmz of steven chuit remains to be seen. some names would be byron dorgen, the democrat from north dakota. governor of the state of washington as well as jennifer gran. we know of one likely departure that we should hear about. that is a name not familiar to a lot of americans. she served as a deputy chief of

staff to the president. it is likely that she is going to leave. there has been a lot of conversation about the number of women that have surrounded the president in this new cabinet. the last four positions we have seen were all men. nancy's name was not thrown around yet and some people are saying more women's names should have been considered. >> peter alexander, thank you so much and we will be stopping back with you to talk about immigration. with chuck hagel's nomination looking like a tough one powell had this to say on "meet the press" this morning. >> i think he will do a great job as secretary of defense. i think all of these issues that you have raised he will be prepared to deal with. i have read responses he has put together and i think he will make a spirited and defense of his position. >> let's bring in senior

congressional reporter and congressional reporter for "role call." i was reading one of your recent articles that read has kirk's office been running a secret hagel campaign? how much weight can an endorsement like colin powell's be for hagel, a republican here when he is pushing forward this candidate despite some of the contentious discussions so far even as you were writing a fellow republican not liking hagel at the moment? >> i think you are right in saying that this has been a bit of a contentious nomination that the president has made but it is going to be very, very difficult to see how a block large enough to basically filibuster this nomination will with emerge. there has been speculation that prominent jewish candidates could get in the way.

you will see floor speeches that question mr. hagel's commitment to israel or his commitment to iranian sanctions. i think in a lot of ways the republican critique of his nomination comes sort of as a general critique of his position when he came out after having voted originally for the iraq war and also just an ally of the president. in a lot of ways for the republicans this has been one of another proxy battles with president obama. it is as much about the feelings about him as their feelings about chuck hagel. >> those feelings come from the left as you were talking about. >> i am not comfortable yet. i want to ask him questions about those two issues. >> democratic senator richard blumenthal with that statement there.

as you were writing you said as chuck schumer goes so goes hagel. >> that's right. chuck schumer is probably the most important voice in this debate on the democratic side right now. really the only way that chuck hagel doesn't get confirmed right now is if democratic senators come out in opposition to him. there is going to be a balk of republican senators who will vote against hagel for the reasons you mention. >> do you think schumer will go against this nomination? >> i think it is unlikely at this point. chuck hagel will have to really assure both schumer, blumenthal, other jewish democrats that he would be a staunch advocate for israel. i'm sure he will do that. if he slips up in any way in the hearings or if a lot of the groups off of the hill that are very influential try to derail

after the hearings it will be very hard for some democrats to vote for him. absent that i think his confirmation is affirmed. >> let's change subjects to afghanistan that came up throughout this week. i want to play a little sound here from retired army general stanley mccrystal. >> i have a lot of feelings about what happened and the most is that responsibility is key. there is no point in finger pointing. i have regrets that some of the things that i was responsible for i didn't finish. i didn't finish the job in afghanistan. >> what is your thought here? what lessons do you think congress will take away from this war? >> well, i think that it shows how complicated it is to fight long-term wars in the current world that we live in. this has been going on now for

more than a decade and it's created complicated regional issues that we obviously didn't understand clearly at the on set. most people weren't concerned that we were doing the right thing particularly in the wake of 9/11. war is complicated. i think we will see the conversations as the senate tries to confirm chuck hagel. you look at the kind of outside influnss that weigh into the debates. all of the outside forces on the hill could put pressure on the members which is what got chuck hagel in trouble in the first place. one of the most controversial was a statement about apec. he referred to it as the jewish lobby and how members respond to that and how they craft their views on policy on that. you have all of these things that we see in washington whether outside groups or allegiances among lawmakers. at the end of the day people

tend to lineup behind the president particularly in issues of foreign policy when serious matters like deciding to go to war or imposing sanctions on other countries are concerned. you have to demonstrate unity. >> stick around. we will be speaking with you later this hour. i look forward to that conversation. former president george h.w. bush would leave the hospital early this week. the latest on the elder bush's condition. plus heavy fighting and air strikes around damascus. what is means for the united states next. what former first star thinks is way off. we will tell you who is speaking out. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids,

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you are looking at amateur video of syrian war planes attacking. that happened a little earlier today. those air strikes are part of the government's latest offensive against the rebel bases. let's bring in. good to have you here. let's talk about this back and forth. is it still in a see saw condition? do you see this breaking any which way? >> we don't see any significant changes. what we are seeing on the ground are incremental operations on both sides? they take over a military base and get heavier weapons. they fight back with aircrafts and heavier guns. we have seen this kind of status quo for the past eight or nine months without any significant tipping balance into one another's favors.

>> four syrians, 60,000 killed so far at least. and many places where they don't have electricity and basic needs being met. >> the conditions on the ground, complete disaster. the people there you mentioned 60,000 people killed on all sides of the conflict. 600,000 displaced. close to 2 million people displaced inside syria meaning they have left their homes trying to find shelter elsewhere. every national organization i spoke to has described a dire humanitarian situation that is exacerbated that we are in the middle of winter. no blankets. it is a very grim picture for people. >> bashar al assad still in power, not going to step down. russia the key player there. that is just one outside influence. we have the united states and the u.k. wanting him to step aside. you have things happening to the south and to the coast.

what sort of environment are we looking at in terms of what assad might do next? >> it is extremely chaotic and unpredictable. because of the internationalization, much has been said this is part of war. with the money coming into it and the weapons, money from the gulf country to the rebels. it is a regional conflict. the fighting is taking place and has regional complications. >> chemical weapons. i believe his statement is he said earlier he is alluding to the chemical weapons and said it could involve u.s. troops saying you have to keep the possibility that if there is a peaceful transition and international organizations get involved that they might ask for assistance in that situation. so defense secretary paneta discussing troops and the weapons. >> for u.s. and israel, they

hinted at the fact that they would use force if they needed to ensure them is it falling into the hands of people that could be dangerous. dictators use chemical weapons. in a moment of desperation if this regime feels its back is against the wall and time is running out it may resort to the weapons. >> how about loose chemical weapons? >> even if they aren't used by the regime the concern is somebody can get their hands on them and smuggle them out of the country or use them in conflict. >> russian forces you were telling me they have a naval base there and there was also recently warships in the mediterranean undertaking practice there, war games, if you will. what is the calculus when we look at russia and its military apparatus and its existence? >> this is the last major

military base in the middle east. it still sees syria as a satellite state. it has a naval base there and has several russian citizens. russia said it will evacuate its citizens. there is a flexing of the military muscle in the region. nobody is fearing russian military involvement but it g e gives you a sense of how quickly it can exploet. >> right now as you were saying at the start of the conversation it doesn't look like we will see anything different than the see-saw situation we have seen. coming up dress rehearsal. what it takes to get ready for a presidential inauguration and how washington could find itself in a new jersey state of mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] shift the balance of power decisively in your favor.

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looking and sounding good. a full dress rehearsal this morning. that is not the president there, is it? nor is that the first lady or the vice president nor dr. biden. let's head to the political playground for more d.c. may be conducting dress rehearsals. the committee is offering a group on-like deal in hopes for raising money. the price here is $50,000. that will get you a candle light reception with president obama, vice president biden and their wives. individuals can contribute up to $1 million. and the ban on corporate donations has been lifted. can actor tom cruise be thinking about doing more than playing a president. a new book alleges that years ago when president george h.w. bush was brought up that crews

chimed in if he could be governor he could be president. it takes a look at the rise from the projects to the supreme court of the united states. she received a $1.2 million advance for therstory. don't look too much for first daughter davis to say anything nice about 1600 pen. davis is not a fan of the new show and went so far as to call it stupid after davis tried to sell a show last year that was titled "ribbon" after her secret service code name. her show focused on a rebellious young daughter who found herself pregnant after wedlock. we will talk to one mayor from the jersey shore about

where the relief money would go. you can't turn around and not see the name chris christie in the headline. how much of an influence does he have? and newark's mayor is tying up loose ends. why the garden state could change the face of washington. [ male announcer ] edmunds.com says the all-new nissan altima is a better car than camry. to argue would be rude. nissan altima. with moving-object detection. lease now. just $199 per month. visit choosenissan.com. road and track called sentra an economy car minus the look and feel of an economy car. wonder how civic and corolla look and feel about that. the all-new nissan sentra, with best-in-class mpg. lease for $169 per month. visit choosenissan.com. for their annual football trip.

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>> a cold front in the west is expected to produce a winterery risk of sleet and freezing rain by monday morning. michigan can get snow as early as tonight. the family of aaron schwarz is blaming government officials for his death. the 26-year-old hanged himself friday in his apartment. he was facing federal charges for computer hacking. his family says his death was a product of intimidation. nbc news has learned former president george h.w. bush could be headed home early this weekendweek. the house is expected to take up a $50 billion hurricane sandy relief package when it reconvenes this week. it has been nearly 80 days since the storm slammed into the northeast. the house cancelled a vote in

december but did approve a smaller measure funding flood insurance. those actions outraged new york and new jersey lawmakers. let's bring in one of the officials, mayor ed johnson from new jersey. thanks for being here with us. >> good afternoon. >> do you think congress will get it done this week when they return to the hill? >> we are very hopeful. our contacts in washington say that there will be a vote on tuesday, the 5th which is martin luther king's birthday. we hope our congress will take that day to show leadership and compassion. we understand it will be broken into two votes, the house republican leadership is putting up about a $17 billion version. and then we have the original $60 billion total passed by the senate which will also be considered. >> 50 billion, the remainder there. how have you been able to pay for the bills in between. you have not stopped recovery

efforts. >> we are already $10 million deep into funding for recovery and rebuilding efforts. we are using the credit cards. that is exactly what many shore communities are doing. we can't wait for lack of leadership in washington. the summer season is our bread and butter and we really have to get things going now in order to be prepared for the coming season. >> when do you hit your credit line? how much longer can you survive? >> well, we are going to continue to move forward and we will survive and get this done. >> a month? two months? >> i think we are in better shape than that with $10 million that we are taking action this next wednesday which will fund things like the reconstruction of the boardwalk, damage to our sewer plant and other structural damage around town. it is unexpected. it does hit us hard but we will make it.

we just received reimbursement from hurricane irene earlier this year. and that is the normal fast track. so while we are laying out the expenses we will do everything we can to recoup them from insurance and from disaster assistance. >> i want to get your reaction to a fellow mayor in new jersey. that is corey booker out of newark. the stanford daily reprinted a column wrote back in 1990. it details evolution from a teen who quote hated gays to an advocate for causes. this past friday mayor booker told wnbc why he wrote the column. take a listen. >> i was a participant in this ignorance and that is why as a 22-year-old i wrote such a dramatic article shining a light at myself in hopes that i could be a bridge builder.

>> do you accept that evolution? >> all of us have had an evolution and a change of heart. we have all said and done some pretty dumb stuff. that certainly was one of them. i have to take it at face value. i have worked with cory booker. i have seen him in action on the city council and newark now and his work as mayor. i think the totality of his work and contributions to society, not just here in new jersey, in america and world wide certainly does speak volumes to his evolution and becoming aware of how we need to -- >> you accept his explanation? >> i certainly do. >> thank you for coming today. >> thank you. mayor booker's evolution is not the only reason we are talking about him today. booker filed papers that allow him to explore a run for a

senate seat. booker was asked on "meet the press" if he will run and here is what he said. >> this campaign is over a year away. you know new jersey has to focus on a governor's race and a legislative race. i have to file. >> you are not ruling out challenging? >> i am not ruling out anything but it is premature to be speculative. >> let's go to our political war room. as a senior fellow at the family research council. good to see you. what do you think about what the mayor is doing here? stepping on toes maybe? >> he is. let's not kid ourselves. to take on somebody of that stature and long standing service to new jersey. he is 89 but he doesn't act 89. he is witty and resourceful and delivering for the state. cory booker knows that. he is somebody that booker has had to look to to get the kind of coverage for relief for hurricane sandy that everybody

is so desperate for. on the other handbooker knows he is stepping on toes but he knows lautenberg is 89. we saw senator rockefeller step down yesterday and there have been challenges that were successful. dale bumpers took on a senator four years ago and we saw senator specter lose in a primary. it happens. nobody likes it but it is a factor within the party. that is life in modern politics. >> some of the statements being made, there was report that a top aid was not happy about where cory booker might be going. is he handling it the right way? getting these statements said by top aids is there a better way of moving forward? >> to read between the lines it sounds like mayor booker tried to reach out without any success

so far. you can't really begrudge senator lautenberg thinking you will have your time. i am doing what the people in the state want. but i think what he is doing is getting his foot in so that if senator lautenberg decides he has had it and made money in a past life and has a beautiful younger wife and can enjoy himself now he may decide who needs the aggravation in the senate and cory booker would be presumably next in line. >> i don't think -- in the final analysis i think what cory is doing is pretty smart. he is placing a bet that frank is not going to run again and he is trying to position himself at the head of the line for anybody else who might aspire to replace

frank. and so this is not a game for wall flowers or folks who are -- at the end of the day it is a pretty darwinian game. >> listen to this. this is what booker said in that wnbc interview. >> as frustrated as i was with him for taking time to evolve, as he said, it was a glorious thing to see the first president of the united states stand up and affirm equality. >> talking about same sex marriage and marriage equality. should republicans reconsider their stance on issues such as same sex marriage? >> i don't think so. earlier today colin powell talked about the dark vein of intolerance. that plays both ways when you have folks on the left who will take a defense of traditional

marriage as being an act of bigotry. i think we need to grow up and play this out in the public arena and in the legislate chb bodies of the country. >> the president's comments made before the election did assist in getting a large gay vote to go his way. >> that was a political strategy and it was a political convenience strategy. >> can republicans ignore that development? >> i think so. i think if you look at across these united states 32 states have basically been supportive of traditional marriage. i think that is the prevailing view in the country. and i think it will be the prevailing view in the highest court in the land. >> we'll stay in new jersey. that is our state for the day. governor chris christie is riding a wave of popularity. three quarters of the voters approve of the job he is doing. should new jersey democrats put

up a candidate to run against christie. >> i think you always as a party -- it is a blue state. let's not kid ourselves. hats off to governor christie for having the standing he does. if the democratic party in new jersey can't find somebody to run a really serious campaign against him. until sandy came along chris christie did not seem like the superman that he seems today. there were policy differences that split democrats and republicans seriously. the notion of him running for president i think is a joke. marco rubio is in the senate because governor crist hugged president obama. governor christie praised him and bad mouthed speaker boehner and the house republicans. i don't see those as positions that will work nationally in a

republican primary. >> do you think that hug is similar to what we are seeing with christie in the future because he works so closely that that will hurt him somehow perhaps from conservative republicans that have come out and said they are not the happiest with governor christie. >> the republican party is a center right party and governor christie is a pretty much centrist. that works well in new jersey. running for the presidency or the nomination in the republican party i think is left and center views will probably not bode well for him. >> even with being on the cover of "time" magazine. >> that might be the kiss of death. >> that might be the kiss of death right there. >> maybe you and richard agree with that one there. thank you both. >> always good to be with you.

>> don't be on the cover of "time" magazine is what you are saying. which both occurred on this day in history? there is a lot happening on capitol hill today but none of it has anything to do with politics. we go behind the scenes coming up. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening.

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>> thank you. thank you very much. >> after being sworn in by justice lewis powell j he spoke to the crowd. >> today because of your faith in our efforts i stand before you as chief executive of the state. and now in keeping with the sanction and privilege extended to all governors it is my honor to address the people of the commonwealth and to express to my fellow citizens the profound gratitude and deep sense of purpose that i feel in fulfilling your expectations. >> the milestone in u.s. history. a week from today the nation's first black president gets officially sworn in for his second term. preparations and rehearsals are already underway. that happening today in washington d.c.

president obama actually gets sworn in twice this time. you know, twice because sunday is the official and monday is the ceremonial. >> yes. the constitution says you have to be sworn in on january 20th. monday, martin luther king jr. day. >> that is like having a birthday twice. he will have two bibles? >> he will have two. he is going to have three because the robinson family bible will be used on sunday and then abraham lincoln's bible. i think it is the first time he has two and the first time the martin luther king jr. bible has been used. it is 50 years to the day that martin luther king stood at the lincoln memorial and said i have a dream. he will be facing the lincoln

memorial. it is a really nice cycle here. >> it definitely is. we are hearing getting enough money to pay for the inauguration. they are short about $10 million from the $50 million we need. >> i think it is more the tough economic times. people have already given to barack obama with his record-breaking campaign and the democratic convention. they wanted the business community to come and help the load. his relation with them is not so great right now. he needs to work on them a second term. >> he was able to raise a billion dollars. it is a lot of money. still in comparison. >> so he is having a hard time fundraising and yet tickets are going at a huge rate. i saw online some tickets are being sold for $6,000. maybe too bad he can't sell his own tickets. >> you get the tickets. you are able to go to the

inauguration and get to see some of the performers and we were talking about beyonce earlier last week. major obama supporter. then we have kelly clarkson. she is a ron paul supporter. >> she is. when the president calls and says please come sing i think you definitely want to perform. you have james taylor and the kids concert, alisha keys, john legend, usher, smoky robinson, the cast of "glee." >> plans on the ground, talk about that. i remember four years ago you couldn't move. you had to get out of your bed at 3:00 a.m. to get down to the mall in time because even the subways were so full. what do they expect this time around? >> last time it was 1.8 million people. this time around they are expecting around 600,000 to 800,000 people. it will be smaller but no less

grand. i think obviously d.c. is really preparing for all of those things and you have to prepare early. hopefully there won't be problems trying to get into the gates like there was last time for the swearing in ceremony and then we had the ticket master drama. >> the tickets are supposed to be free but now people are able to buy them as much as 2 grand on ebay and craigslist. is this illegal? >> i don't think it is necessarily illegal. senator schumer is in charge of the inaugural committee and he says he frowns upon it. >> i will see you there. i will get up at 5:00 a.m. instead of 3:00 a.m. this time around. we still on capitol hill and wonder what have they done for you and me lately. [ male announcer ] staples is the number-one

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this has been a favorite all week. what's more popular than congress these days, and, well, you know, practically everything with only a 14% approval rating. a recent poll compared congress to some pretty dislikable things, brussel sprouts, but actually i kind of like brussel sprouts. used car salesmen, replacement refs and cockroaches and donald trump all more popular than congress. congress has lots to do if cockroaches are edging them out in popularity. the 113th congress is not starting out on the right foot with the american people, but does this mean that they will be ineffective? joining me now from washington rejoining us is manu raju, senior congressional reporter for politico and the congressional reporter for "roll call." manu, 14% approval rating. we've seen it kind of, if you will, skip at the bottom now throughout the last year. is the 113th going to be more

popular? they are going to replace 90 members in both the house and the senate? >> i don't think so. >> no hope for that. you laugh. >> look, this is a congress that will have to resolve more crisis. this year of congressional politics really has been defined about lur,ing from crisis to crisis and narrowly avoiding these crises. this is coming up again in february when it's going to be time to raise the nation's debt ceiling, and there's no clear path in during that at this point. it will happen in march when they have to extend government funding, and will the government shut down if they don't? these budget battles will continue to find congress, and there's really no way out, so if we -- if congress can't resolve a lot of these issues, you probably bet that that approval rating will be and will go even lower if that's possible. >> it is possible. the numbers, as we're looking at it just a moment ago, manu and meredith, hit in the 10% range

not too long ago. the question is will they go single digit? on abc this week senator joe manchin had some things to say about getting things done in both chambers. listen to this, and i'll get your reaction. >> okay. >> i've yet to have a bipartisan meeting that's been organized where republicans and democrats in the senate sit down and work through their problems. think about just in the senate we don't have that type of dialogue going on from democrats and republicans. we don't even know our colleagues over in the house. >> don't even know our colleagues over in the house. you know, the whole fiscal cliff negotiations, we saw that. speaking all throughout the lead up to that deal coming down. members of the house didn't know what was happening over in the senate, and even as the senator was saying there, senators not knowing what the leadership in the senate were doing. >> well, so to go to manu's point, too, when we're going from crisis to crisis it's

important to remember that congress has created these crises, not something sprung upon them, their inability to negotiate long-term deals before creates this infinite series of budget deadlines, but to the point of the senator, i think that it's not nearly as important that rank and file senators know rank and file house members. in fact, it's nearly impossible for that to happen and in the long scheme of thing that's not something that's common, but i think trust among the leadership teams of both the house, the senate and the white house is very important, and so i think about baseball, right? i'm a pretty big baseball fan and you think about the mendoza line, the very base bottom line that batters can hit, and congress has set the bar so low that maybe we'll be surprised and see it be exceeded this congress. i mean, there are a lot of bipartisan issues or issues that they could make into bipartisan issues, whether it's on immigration. you saw a lot of republican senators especially coming out after the election saying that congress had to do something about that or maybe even gun control, although that's going

to be a tricky issue as well. >> talking about the mendoza line, a line that continues to get lower and lower and that has to do with the debt in terms of how much the country owes. manu, what does it say when the president was being encouraged by senate democrats to use the 14th amendment and go past congress with the debt ceiling plan. you were writing about that earlier in the week. reid to obama, it's okay to skip congress on the debt ceiling. >> that's right. i mean, that just shows how there's really no way out of this situation at this point. the two sides are arguing completely different things. on the one side republicans are saying taxes cannot be considered a part of the equation, and we need to cut spending dollar for dollar for any debt ceiling increase. >> right. the president is saying revenues must be part of an equation, and he does not want to use the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip. so what do they say, skip congress all together because they can't get it done. >> manu raju of politico and marilyn of "roll call," thank

you both very much. president obama may have a new immigration plan in the works and what does that mean for his second agenda? and you may have more cash to put in the bank. after the break we'll examine the reason why. you're watching the place for politics. reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.